Having a Baby
by BettyHall223
Summary: This should be one of the happiest times of her life but Sam is doubting herself.  Short story.


_Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are not my property. No copyright infringement is intended._

He was going to be a dad again! Having Sam as the mother of his child always brought a grin to his face every time he thought about her, how much he loved her and how much he missed her. The last time he had seen her, she had never looked more feminine and beautiful, she truly had that pregnancy glow. It had been a month since he had last seen Sam and the baby was due in two weeks.

He had talked with her on the phone last night and she had seemed a little down, so he was most anxious to leave Washington and get home to Colorado to check on her. He had some great news to share with her and he wanted to tell her in person.

He arrived at the airport, hailed a taxi and was on his way. As the taxi pulled up outside the house, he noticed that Sam's car was there so he paid the driver and hurried up the steps. He used his key to get inside and as he came through the door, he set down his luggage and called out for Sam. When she didn't answer, he walked back to their bedroom thinking that maybe she was sleeping, but she wasn't there.

He crossed the hall to the bedroom that they planned to use for the nursery. The door was ajar so he pushed it open to see Sam sitting in the new rocking chair, tears on her cheeks.

He hurried to kneel in front of her. "Sam, what is it? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Oh, Jack" was all she could say as he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a hug, then leaned back to look at her.

"What's the matter, honey?"

"What am I doing, Jack? I can't have this baby."

He frowned. "What do you mean you can't have this baby?"

She sobbed between words. "I can't . . . have this baby. I'm not . . . cut out . . . to be a mother."

Jack smiled at her.

"I . . . mean it, Jack. I don't know . . . anything about babies. I've been thinking . . . about all these things that could go wrong. What if the baby gets . . . cold and I don't dress it warm enough . . . or I over dress it and it gets too hot . . . or what if I diaper it wrong and I hurt it? What if I feed it too much . . . or too little? What if my breasts get too sore . . . and I can't nurse? What if I don't . . . burp it right and it gets . . . gas on its little tummy?"

His knees were beginning to ache, so he sat down on the floor in front of her, took her hand in his and just let her vent and cry.

"What if it sleeps . . . through the day and cries all night and I don't know what to do? What if I don't . . . show it enough affection? What if I do everything wrong and it . . . grows up to hate me?"

Jack couldn't help it, he started to chuckle. "I think you have raging hormones."

Sam gently slapped him on the arm and cried that much harder. "I hate you, Jack O'Neill! You have . . . no idea what I'm going through . . . and I don't think you care. And you're the one that . . . got me into this condition. This is all your fault!"

Sam pushed herself up out of the rocker and he stood up quickly. She took a few steps toward the door but he stepped in front of her and pulled her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around him and clung to him and cried.

He put one arm around her waist and held the back of her head with his other hand.

"I love you, Samantha" he said softly into her ear as he began to gently rock her back and forth.

And just when he thought she was finished crying, she started sobbing again and talked into his chest.

"How can you love me? I look like a . . . beached whale. I'm . . . huge. I can't see my feet, my ankles are . . . swollen, I can't wear my shoes and I'm constantly in the bathroom. I can't get in any comfortable position to sleep. My bra is too tight and my hair's a mess. I can't shave my legs because I can't reach them. I walk like a penguin. This morning for breakfast, I ate a whole quart of ice cream, three donuts, a candy bar and two cans of Diet Coke."

Jack tried not to laugh as she continued.

"I haven't been out of these clothes in two days. I look awful . . . and on top of all that, I can hardly push myself off the sofa!"

He suddenly had this vision of Sam heaving herself up from the sofa and he started laughing.

"Now you're making fun of me!" she said between sobs.

He hugged her again, then stood back from her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Oh, baby, I'm not making fun of you. I'm laughing at the situation. Come in here and sit down."

He really tried to stop laughing as he took her by the hand, led her to their bedroom and set her down on the end of the bed. He used his thumbs to wipe away her tears and gently kissed her.

He looked into her watery eyes and thought she had never looked so adorable with her short hair sticking up in all directions, her bloodshot eyes and runny nose.

He held her face in his hands. "Now, what brought all this on?"

"It's just such a huge responsibility, Jack" she sniffed. "What if I'm not a good mom?"

"Sam, you are going to be the most fantastic mother that has ever lived."

"You're just saying that to get me to stop crying." She tried to reach a box of tissues on the dresser but it was too much work, so she just sat there. Jack stood and grabbed the box and handed it to her. She pulled out two tissues and wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

"No, I'm not just saying that. This is going to be the most fortunate child to have ever been born to have you as its mother. You are going to be wonderful and great and this little baby is going to love you to pieces!"

She looked at him with skepticism and tried to catch her breath. "You really think so?"

He grinned at her. "I know so."

The tears came again as she rubbed her hands over her tummy. "Oh Jack, why do you put up with me?"

He lifted her head with his finger and gazed into her eyes. "Because you are the most beautiful and smartest and sweetest woman I've ever known and you look very hot being pregnant." He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned.

"I didn't mean it when I said I hate you. I'm sorry." She laid her head on his chest and the tears came again.

He wrapped his arm around her. "I know you didn't mean it, sweetheart. You're just tired and feeling overwhelmed."

He stood up, then helped her stand. He sat down at the head of the bed and put a pillow behind him and held out his arms.

"C'mere."

Sam went around to the other side of the bed. She eagerly lay down beside him and put her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a long hug, then gently held his hand to her tummy.

"I'm coming home for good, Sam."

Her eyes grew wide and her face lit up as she looked up at him. "You are?"

"Yes. I've already given the President my resignation. I've given it a lot of thought ever since we found out you were pregnant. You need me here to help care for the baby and I want to be here all the time. I want to be a fulltime dad. I want to be involved in its life every day, not just every other weekend. I missed out on so much of Charlie's life and I refuse to do that with this baby. I've done my part in saving this planet and you know how much I hate living in Washington and not having you there with me. I want to be here with you and the baby permanently. The two of you are way more important than any job. Think you could stand having me around all the time?"

She smiled for the first time since he arrived.

"I'd love it, Jack. What did the President say?"

"He wasn't too pleased about having to start searching for someone else, but I gave him some names of people that I thought would be qualified for the job. Besides, he's a family man himself, so he understands why I want to come home."

Sam played with a button on his shirt. "I've missed you so much and I've been so lonely without you. I wanted you here to help me decorate the nursery and pick out stuff for the baby. Last weekend I saw the cutest little booties and I started to cry right there in the baby store, because you weren't there with me to see how cute and tiny they were. I've needed you here to tell me that everything's going to be okay. Daniel and Teal'c have been great, but you're who I need most." A tear slid down her cheek and she wiped it away as he kissed her temple.

"I know, honey, and I should have been here."

"I didn't say all that to make you feel guilty, Jack. I just want you to know how much I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, more than you know."

Sam pushed herself up as Jack put a pillow behind her. She scooted up to the head of the bed so she could lean against the pillow.

He took her hand and kissed it.

Sam wiped her eyes. "I've been thinking a lot about my mom. I really miss her and I need her now more than ever. She would've been such a big help while I'm going through this and I could certainly use her advice, especially after the baby comes."

"I'm sorry she can't be here, Sam. I know having her here would have made things easier for you."

Sam sighed loudly. "I have to go to the bathroom again."

He stood up, came around to her side of the bed and held out his hands to help her stand as he gazed into her eyes.

"I love you, Sam, and I can't put into words how much I appreciate you for going through this. I can hardly wait to hold this little baby."

She looked at him with a teary smile. "I love you too, Jack, and I'm sorry I'm such a basket case."

"You're going to be okay."

"Are you sure?"

He grinned. "Yes, Mrs. O'Neill, you're going to be just fine."

Sam put her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, then kissed him. She let go and turned to leave the room as he watched.

He chuckled and couldn't resist teasing her. "You're so cute when you walk like a penguin."

Sam turned around and waddled back to him, clasped his hands in hers and looked into his eyes.

"Thank you, Jack."

"For what?"

"For understanding . . . and for loving me."

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her in a big hug. "Always, Sam. Always."

The End


End file.
